The swing for teams is one of the most difficult to do. For all, it’s a bus ride encompassing 2,500 miles or so to towns you’ll see once a year, barring playoffs. It’s usually a chance to see parents whom the players haven’t seen since they left in August, and then there’s the brutal schedule with 6 games in 10 nights. It is said that if a team can win half of the games on a swing, they are doing well. Five Portland Winterhawks are on a homecoming with Josh Davies from Airdrie, Nick Johnson and Marcus Nguyen from Calgary., Ryan Miller from Medicine Hat, and Kyle McDonough from Langdon, Alberta.
For the Hawks, they will have to do this at the end of the swing against the better teams.
Portland headed to Red Deer, Alberta, and took on the Rebels, who have had a less than a .500 record on the season, and the same can be said for the season.
There were several attempts at breaking the deadlock during the first period but to no avail. Portland had three consecutive powerplays that proved fruitless in the frame.
Early in the second period, just as a Red Deer penalty expired, Marcus Nguyen sent a pass to Kyle Chykowski, who kicked the puck off his skate to his stick and fired it into the open goal. Midway through the period, Red Deer capitalized on the powerplay with a Kai Uchacz wrister over the right pad of Jan Spunar. Portland continued to have penalty trouble, and Red Deer took advantage, with Kaland Lind notching his second of the year just under five minutes later.
Things for Portland fell apart as Red Deer took a high-sticking penalty, and just as the puck was to be dropped, Portland got caught with Too Many Men, which resulted in an even-up in penalties.
Portland could never gain the equalizer, and the 8-game winning streak was snapped. Red Deer won 2-1 with Portland leading 36-24 in shots and went 0-6 on the powerplay with Red Deer blazing at 2-3.
Less than 24 hours later and ninety minutes up the road, it was the lowly Edmonton Oil Kings, who thus far are faring worse than the Rebels in the standings.
The Rogers Place Arena, home of the Edmonton Oilers NHL franchise, saw over 7,000 take in the game.
With traffic in front, a shot from the point tipped off Landon Hanson’s stick for the game’s first goal. After being denied by Colby Hay in the net for Edmonton, Marcus Nuguyen capitalized on a shorthanded opportunity at 14:14 of the first. Nguyen got his second of the game early in the second period before Edmonton scored four straight in just over five minutes. Late in the second, Josh Zakreski scored on the powerplay to tighten the Oil Kings lead. James Stefan also scored on the powerplay to bring the Hawks within one.
Spunar was pulled by the Hawks with just over a minute left, but they couldn’t gain the equalizer and fell 5-4. The Hawks outshot Edmonton 40-28 and went 2-6 on the powerplay to Edmonton’s 1-6.
About three hours south, the Hawks headed down Highway 2 to face the Calgary Hitman. Like the Hawks, the Hitmen were on their third game in three nights, but the Hitman had won their past two games, a 4-3 OT win over division-leading Lethbridge and a 7-4 battle with Red Deer.
The Hawks faced off in the Calgary Flames NHL home of the Saddledome. 2700 took in the Sunday game as the Hitmen brought the small crowd out strong with a goal just six minutes into the game. Fourteen minutes in, Calgary got a shorthanded marker to up the lead.
Marcus Nguyen replied for the Hawks less than two minutes later on the powerplay. Portland hit the skids by giving up a powerplay marker just over 30 seconds into the second period and just over thirty seconds later. Five minutes later, Calgary hit a shorthanded goal.
Just over two minutes later, Gabe Klassen got his seventh of the year, but Calgary would add another five minutes later to leave the period at 6-2. Portland’s Josh Davies and Kyle Chykowski made it close at 6-4 before Calgary’s Carter MacAdams stuck the dagger in with less than six minutes left.
It’s not as if Portland wasn’t shooting as they outshot Calgary 62 to 35 and went 1-6 on the powerplay with Calgary 1-4 on the man advantage. Luke Brunen was the starter in net for the first time since Spunar’s return.
The Hawks have to win the next three, with Wednesday in Medicine Hat, Friday in Swift Current, SK, and Saturday in Lethbridge at the end of the swing. Portland will then play in Kamloops four days later and Vancouver two days after that before returning to Portland into the third week of November.
